


Everything that kills me, makes me feel alive

by Supertights



Category: Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death Fix, Gen, Not Beta Read, Wordcount: 100-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-18
Updated: 2014-05-18
Packaged: 2018-01-25 12:45:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1649105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Supertights/pseuds/Supertights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Last he remembers, he was on a fast track to being dead. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything that kills me, makes me feel alive

**Author's Note:**

> This is kind of a quick prologue to a story I'm writing about his return to the Marvel Universe.

He drifted on waves on memories, a moment snatched from the last stand against Thanos, Peter at his side as they fought to give their friends time to escape. Big damn heroes. Then an earlier time, when he was with the New Warriors, walking through a forest in the snow, they were just kids. Fast forward again to a drinking game with Gamora and Rocket at Starlin's, a much reduced Groot looking on from a tiny pot as the Rocket poured a measure of cosmic bourbon into his soil. His lips mouthed, "I am Groot."

_Warning._

Cold. He felt cold. He'd died so it wasn't a stretch to think death might still be holding him in her icy fingers. Thanos's great love. Grim Death appearing at the last moment in the cancerverse, watching the final battle with mercy for no one.

He'd been afraid. He remembered being afraid when he met his end-- wait, he didn't actually recall dying. Rewind. Peter and Rich, fighting Thanos, Death appeared--

_Warning._

Focus! He remembered facing Thanos. Peter holding a mostly empty cosmic cube in his hand. Pouring the last of the Nova Force into it. Was it even possible that they'd escaped? Richard Rider, the Nova Prime for the entire galaxy, began to warm, wanted nothing more than to stretch every part of his body as he unfurled from a foetal position and opened his eyes, alive--

_Warning.Warning.Warning._

"SHIT!" he screamed, flailing as he tried to catch his bearings.

A star, on the verge of supernova, filled his vision. Klaxons were blaring in his helmet to match the emotionless voice.

_WARN--_

"Computer, plot an emergency jump to Kree space!" he said, pushing away memories and cold fingers as the heat of the sun began to cook him in his suit.

_Warning. Insufficient power to jump to Kree--_

"Anywhere!" he bellowed. "Knowhere! Earth!"

It was getting a little uncomfortable, make that way too hot to be comfortable. His suit began to sizzle and crackle. Or was that his flesh. Star charts overlaid the image of the supernova as the Nova suit's computer plotted the course, quick and dirty, and channelled power for thrust.

 _Warning_ , repeated the suit. Rich missed Worldmind's dry humor even in the face of death. Again. Even Ko-Rel's bitter sarcasm would be welcome rather than the suit's emotionless default system. _Emergency gravitational transit in three_ \--

The last two counts went unheard as the blast of energy, all that he had available, fired, and he rocketed towards the supernova at breakneck speed, breathing when, at last, he jumped with microseconds and minimal shielding to spare.

_Warning._

'Oh now what,' he thought.

_Complete loss of power in five seconds. Preparing to leave transwarp. Emergency beacon activated._

"Out of the frying pan, into the fire!" he growled as he came out of warp.

 


End file.
